Meet the Guy Who Wants to Rid the World's Oceans of Plastic

Our core values at Aquagear have always included environmental stewardship. Since the beginning, we have been advocated for recycling and the importance of ditching single-use plastics. So, in light in light of that, we thought it might be worth revisiting some of the amazing work happening at The Ocean Cleanup.

The project is the brainchild of Dutch Inventor Boylan Slat. Slat was just 20 years old when he founded the company. His reason for starting the company was was due to the fact that no one else seemed willing to do anything about plastics in the ocean.

What gave rise to Slat's interest in cleaning up plastics?

According to Wikipedia, at just 16 years old Boylan became interested in plastic pollution. While swimming in Greece he was surprised to discovered more plastic than fish. Once Slat came home he immediately launched an investigation of plastic pollution and even went on to do dedicate his high school project to the subject.

So what is Slat and the Ocean Cleanup planning to do?

According to the big bold text on The Ocean Cleanup's homepage, "Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic litter the ocean." That means they are attempting to perform "the largest cleanup in history" and rid the world's Ocean's of toxic plastic. A feat that previously seemed impossible now has a real chance of being completed.